Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir

Biography

Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir (born 6 July 1965) is an editor. Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, she studied at the London Film School (in Covent Garden), initially concentrating on cinematography, and graduated in 1990.

Her career in film editing began by accident. After working briefly at a production company in Iceland, producing commercials and television content, she moved into editing because the schedule was better suited to raising her children. From then on, she built a long and varied career, editing a broad range of works: TV news, documentaries, reality TV, children's programming, short films, television dramas, and full-length features.

She has collaborated frequently with directors such as David Leitch — on films including John Wick (2014), Atomic Blonde (2015), Deadpool 2 (2018), and Bullet Train (2022) — and with Baltasar Kormákur — notably on the Icelandic film Reykjavík‑Rotterdam (2008), which helped her transition into international filmmaking.

Her editing on Reykjavík‑Rotterdam earned her recognition: the film won the national film award Edda Award for Best Editing ("Klipping ársins") in 2008. In her subsequent career, she has earned further acclaim both in Iceland and internationally.

She is a founding member and served as the first chairwoman for two terms of Women in Film & Television Iceland (WIFT Iceland). She has also served on the board of the Icelandic Producers' Guild and, in 2005–2006, chaired the Icelandic Film & TV Academy. Since 2007, she has been on the board of the Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF).

In her own words, she sees editing not just as technical assembly, but as "an interpretation of the script" and a collaborative craft that respects the contributions of everyone — actors, cinematographers, costume‑makers, stunt crews — to bring a story to life.